Part 1: Are you a Manager (and you just hired someone), read this!

Being a manager (in both role and skill) is important; this is the first installment to supporting you develop a great onboarding experience for your new employee, regardless of how much or little your company does today. This part is about the human side of onboarding, and the second one as a follow up with be about the business side.

The most common mistake I hear managers make is that they either 1) coddle a new employee for way too long or 2) drop them in the middle of the ocean to swim. Neither are good for them or the business. Here are some ideas to help a newbie feel welcome while getting their contribution right away.

1. Send a welcome email at one week prior to their start date (or at the latest the day before they start) to express you excitement, tips and tricks, and a general feel of the first day will go.

Why: Imagine you are traveling to a new country – what do you do? You look online for transportation options, customs, and weather. The same is true for a newbie. They want to know if they should drive or bus (and is there parking), what to wear & bring (ie. Lunch) and who they will be meeting with. Setting them up on expectations and letting them know things will be alright will remove the internal anxiety they may have.

2. Day one is important for both you and the employee, and making sure you are available and visible is important. Its okay to still have meetings, but find ways to check in, invite them, and spend time going through a plan.

Why: The employee is on ultra alert and going through the internal dialogue of “did I make the right choice, do I fit, am I going to succeed” etc. So being there for them will make them feel less isolated and feel like they already fit the flow of the environment.

3. Week one check in.. A good practice is to spend a casual one-hour at the end of the week and let them do a AMA (as me anything) session.

Why: Many times the week flies by for most of us, but the first week for a new person is full of emotion, stress, and just feeling overwhelmed with information and experiences. This allows them to go into the weekend comfortable with that first week journey, have you in their corner, and having something to celebrate. It’s also great for bonding!